Calgary Transit welcomes first “Mask” CTrain car

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We’re really excited about the Mask and what it means for improving our customers’ experience. We have really tailored this design to what our customers have told us they want, and we are especially proud of being able to offer fully accessible transit service.

This is great news for Calgarians. From heated floors and air conditioning to increased accessibility and more comfortable seating, these new trains will make using public transit an even better choice for our citizens.

The S200, or the "Mask," is the first of 63 new cars from Siemens Canada which will be arriving on a regular basis as they come off the assembly line until they are all here by early 2017. The first four-car Mask train will be introduced this spring as more of the new cars arrive.

Calgary Transit is pleased to announce the arrival of its first new Siemens Canada CTrain car to Calgary.

The new cars costs approximately $3.2 million and are fully accessible. The cars were funded by the Government of Alberta.

Calgary Transit is committed to improving the customer experience. The new Mask cars are helping fulfil Calgary Transit’s new Customer Commitment to provide safe, reliable, and easy-to-use transit.

"This is great news for Calgarians," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. "From heated floors and air conditioning to increased accessibility and more comfortable seating, these new trains will make using public transit an even better choice for our citizens."

The new cars will boost four-car CTrain service, which carries up to 800 passengers per trip.

"We’re really excited about the Mask and what it means for improving our customers’ experience," said Calgary Transit Director Doug Morgan. "We have really tailored this design to what our customers have told us they want, and we are especially proud of being able to offer fully accessible transit service."

The new cars feature heated floors, air conditioning, better lighting, improved seating and onboard digital displays to keep passengers up to date on route information and news.

Calgarians were asked to help choose the design of the front of Transit’s new CTrain cars by voting on three options: The Bow, inspired by the Bow River; The Buffalo, inspired by the buffalo; and The Mask, inspired by a hockey goalie mask. The winning design of The Mask represents individuality, reliability, style and protection, a fitting design to represent Calgary.

Calgary Transit is committed to improving the customer experience. The decision to continue running the longer trains is helping us fulfil our new Customer Commitment to provide safe, reliable, and easy-to-use transit.

Backgrounder

There are 63 new Mask cars on order: 28 of them will be replacing the older U2 model which after having been in service for 34 years are reaching the end of their lifespan and contributing to reliability issues due to their age.

Each car costs approximately $3.2 million and is fully accessible.

Features include:

Heated floors for winter

Air conditioning for summer

More comfortable seating, roomier cars including leaning pad in articulated area

Vehicle front doors have been moved back to improve passenger flow

Visible door lighting: green lights for doors open and red for doors closed

Fully accessible entryway with sloped floors – no more ramps. All doors are wheelchair accessible. Doors have been moved back to improve passenger flow

New Passenger Interface Unit improves passenger communication with the driver and has added braille and visible displays for passengers with disabilities

Glassed in operator’s compartment allows the driver to see pedestrians more clearly and enhances passenger view

Double the number of interior speakers to provide more even sound coverage for announcements and reduce the effects of “loud spots”

4-sided destination signs for better customer information while on the platform

Improved camera coverage: full camera coverage of the car inside and out

High resolution cameras inside and out that provide 20/20 vision halfway down the train

The wide open concept allows for better security as peace officers can see from one train to the other

LED lighting

The CTrain carries about 325,000 people every weekday making it the most successful light rail transit system (LRT) in North America.

The new cars are expected to last up to 35 years. The highest mileage on one of Calgary Transit’s U2 cars is 2,778,500 km travelled (more than seven times the distance between Earth and the moon). It is now at 514 inspections, has had 44 new tires (which have been machined 17 times).